Life belt



1923" s. P. EDMONDS.

LIFE BELT.

FILED NOV-511921.

Patented Mar. l3, ll923.

mean

SAMUEL P. EDMONDS, F BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

LIFE BELT.

Application filed November 5, 1921.

To all whom it-may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL P. EDMoNDs,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Life Belts, of

which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an inflatable belt which may be worn as an ordinary waist belt, such as is used to support the trousers or skirt and may be readily inflated when it is desired for a life saving belt.

The purpose of my invention is to provide a neat attractive belt for use with a day garment without any appearance of a lift preserver, having embodied therein an invisible, unnoticeable, permanent attachment comprising an inflatable member and an outer casing that may be unfolded and inflated to quickly transform the belt into a life preserver.

In the following detailed description, I shall refer to the accompanying drawings in whichFigure 1 is a perspective view showing the belt used as an ordinary day belt; Fig. 2 is a perspective viewshowing the inflatable member in its folded or compact form for ordinary use; Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view on the line 8-3 of Fig. 3; Fig. i is a perspective view showing the parts inflated; and Fig. 5 is aperspective View showing the manner of using the belt as a life preserver.

The main body portion 6 of the belt is formed of canvas or other suitable material and is provided, as usual, with mating buckle members 7, 8 on the ends.

The inflatable members 9 9", maybe formed of rubber and preferably are provided with inflating valves 10 in the neck ends. These inflatable rubber members are enclosed in a casing or envelope 12 of canvas, muslin or other suitable material, which. is sewed or otherwise secured to the n) inner side of the belt. The casing is several times the width of the belt when it is opened out, as shown in Fig. 4, but may be folded lengthwise until it lies within the margins of the belt, as illustrated in Fig. 2. When the belt is to be worn for ordinary street wear, to confine the clothing at the waist, the deflated rubber bag members and the casing are secured in folded position to Serial No. 513,184.

the inner side of the belt by means of tabs or short strap members 14 which embrace the casing and are secured by snap fastenings. In this condition the inflatable members are entirelv concealed when the belt is in position about the waist, as shown in Fi 1.

lifter the buoyant members are inflated by placlng the valved inflating nozzles 10 to the lips, the necks of the rubber bags and cover may be securely closed by tying the cords 13. If desired the necks may be bent back upon themselves before being tied. If the cover casing is made of water-proof material or is rendered air-tight when it be comes wet, the casing may serve as an inflatable member and will retain air in case the bags become punctured. When used as a life preservcr, the belt may be reversed so that the inflatable members are upon the outside, as indicated in Fig. 5.

Instead of the duplex inflatable elements, it is evident that a single inflatable bag may be employed. The duplex arrangement is preferable, however, because a defect in one bag would not destroy the usefulness of the life belt if the other bag remained inflated. The cover serves not only as a reinforcing envelope and to confine the inflation to a predetermined volume, but it may also serve as an inflatable buoyant element. If the inflatable member is made of a sufiiciently durable material, the cover may be dispensed I with. It will be evident that various changes and modifications may be made SAMUEL P. EDMONDS. 

